History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent DiscoveryKing, L. W. (Leonard William)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery
King, L. W. (Leonard William)
Egypt -- History -- To 332 B.C.; History, Ancient
In the tomb of a princess named Nubhetep, near at hand, were found more
jewels of the same style as those of Sit-hathor and Merit. The pyramid
itself contained the usual passages and chambers, which were reached
with much difficulty and considerable tunnelling by M. de Morgan. In
fact, the search for the royal death-chambers lasted from December 5,
1894, till March 17, 1895, when the excavators’ gallery finally struck
one of the ancient passages, which were found to be unusually extensive,
contrasting in this respect with the northern pyramid. The royal
tomb-chamber had, of course, been emptied of what it contained. It must
be remembered that, in any case, it is probable that the king was not
actually buried here, but in the pyramid of Hawara.
The pyramid of Amenemhat II, which lies between the two brick pyramids,
was built entirely of stone. Nothing of it remains above ground, but the
investigation of the subterranean portions showed that it was remarkable
for the massiveness of its stones and the care with which the masonry
was executed. The same characteristics are found in the dependent tombs
of the princesses Ha and Khnumet, in which more jewelry was found. This
splendid stonework is characteristic of the Middle Kingdom; we find it
also in the temple of Mentuhetep III at Thebes.
Some distance south of Dashûr is Mêdûm, where the pyramid of Sneferu
reigns in solitude, and beyond this again is Lisht, where in the
years 1894-6 MM. Gautier and Jéquier excavated the pyramid of Usertsen
(Sen-usret) I. The most remarkable find was a cache of the seated
statues of the king in white limestone, in absolutely perfect condition.
They were found lying on their sides, just as they had been hidden. Six
figures of the king in the form of Osiris, with the face painted red,
were also found. Such figures seem to have been regularly set up in
front of a royal sepulchre; several were found in front of the funerary
temple of Mentu-hetep III, Thebes, which we shall describe later. A
fine altar of gray granite, with representations in relief of the nomes
bringing offerings, was also recovered. The pyramid of Lisht itself is
not built of bricks, like those of Dashûr, but of stone. It was not,
however, erected in so solid a fashion as those of earlier days at Gîza
or Abusîr, and nothing is left of it now but a heap of débris. The XIIth
Dynasty architects built walls of magnificent masonry, as we have
seen, and there is no doubt that the stone casing of their pyramids
was originally very fine, but the interior is of brick or rubble; the
wonderful system of building employed by kings of the IVth Dynasty at
Giza was not practised.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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